Cole Pitts: 32nd round, Colquitt County HS, 6/'6" 220 RHP/1B: Definitely going to be a hard sign. This is exactly the kind of highly projectable kid the Indians SHOULD sign. He's an athlete, smart and grew up in a baseball environment. Here is a notation of his skills and other "intangibles" regarding him:

From the South Georgia in the Game Magazine: The article detailed information about two of Georgia's high profile prep players: Berrien County’s Larry Greene and Colquitt County’s Cole Pitts:

...Pitts also has the privilege of playing for his father, Craig Pitts, an assistant with the Colquitt program. Craig Pitts recalls the early years of his son’s baseball career, back when he was just learning how to play the game. “We just started playing in the backyard. He was about five years old when he began,” says Craig Pitts. He has watched his son transform from a little kid chasing a ball with a bat to one of the best players in the state. “He’s really improved over the years. It’s been fun to watch,” he says.

Pitts is an all-around athlete who chooses to focus on baseball. When he played football several years ago, he was quarterback. His skill set should have fit nicely into the pass-happy offense of Rush Propst had he chosen to play football. Pitts wasn’t interested, and instead turned his attention to baseball, though he did play basketball for a few years at Colquitt. “I just love everything about baseball. I love hitting and I love throwing. It’s just something I love to do,” Cole Pitts says.

Cole Pitts is a first baseman and pitcher who has also played third base, mainly on his travel teams. Most scouts have him figured for a pitcher at the next level, though Pitts does just about everything for the Packers. “He’s a player for us. He’s a dominating presence on the mound but he is critical to our success in a lot of areas. He is solid defensively, he can handle the bat well. He can do whatever he wants to do at the next level,” says Colquitt head coach Tony Kirkland.

Pitts’s stat line for the 2011 season shows his versatility. He’s batting .357 with two home runs and six RBI, along with a 1-0 pitching record and 0.77 ERA.

Everyone – from the fans to the players and the coaches – has high hopes for 2011. Colquitt hasn’t been much of a factor in Region 1-AAAAA baseball in the last few years, but that appears to be changing. Under second-year head coach Tony Kirkland, the Packers are considered frontrunners for the region title. “In the past, we’ve just been an average team. But we have a different vibe this year. The players are all talking more and the practices are upbeat. We’ve bought into Coach Kirkland’s system and there’s just a better atmosphere,” says Pitts, who believes Colquitt can win the region. “I think we have the team to do it. This team can hit and throw. I think we can make a long run in the state playoffs.”

Pitts has known for the last several years that he would play in college but he wasn’t sure where. He was thinking junior college or maybe Division II. Then last summer, he hit 90 miles per hour on the radar gun. Letters from Division I schools started coming in. After weighing his options carefully, Pitts decided to attend Georgia Tech. He visited Tech and the University of Georgia on two separate occasions each but ultimately decided upon the Ramblin’ Wreck. He liked the atmosphere and, of course, the tradition of the Georgia Tech baseball program. “Georgia was really nice but I just loved Tech,” he says.

When he arrives at Tech, Pitts’s role will be that of a starting pitcher. He loves all facets of the game but his heart is in pitching. Pitts uses a four-pitch arsenal: a fast ball, cutter, curve and change-up. He has great command of all four pitches and can use any one of them to strike out batters. He loves his change, which he tosses to the plate at about 77 mph. When the change follows Pitts’s 90 mph fast ball, it’s lethal, particularly to high school hitters. “When I need an out, I use the change,” he says.

Pitts loves the one-on-one challenge of staring down a batter and going right after him. He wants the ball and the game in his hands. “I don’t get rattled in big games. I love being in command on the mound. I always try to give it my best,” he says.

It might be hard to top Pitts’s freshman debut with Colquitt County. In that first game, he went 3-5 with a home run and a double. Then he stepped to the mound and closed out the game with three innings of relief. As impressive as that performance was, his biggest baseball moment came on the mound while he was playing for Team Georgia in Oklahoma last year. Team Georgia faced squads comprised of some of the best baseball players in the country in last summer’s Sunbelt Classic in McAlester, Oklahoma. Pitts and his teammates played 10 games in one week, and came away with the championship. Pitts threw the last three innings of the championship game against a very good Tennessee team. He gave up no runs, just one hit and struck out four to preserve the 5-4 win for Team Georgia and earn Most Valuable Pitcher honors.

As solid as Pitts is on the baseball field, his grades have as much to do with him going to Tech as his athleticism. He is a merit graduate and will finish at Colquitt with an A average. When he gets to Tech, he plans to major in a field that will lead him into coaching. Pitts would love to coach baseball or basketball and remain around either game as long as he possibly can. But those plans could be altered a little depending on what happens in the upcoming baseball draft. Pitts is listed as one of the players to watch, and he will almost certainly be selected. But a Georgia Tech education is valuable, and it would have be good money to lure him from Atlanta.

Pitts seems more interested in playing for Georgia Tech than going pro – at least right now. “It would have to be a good pick in the high rounds. I love Georgia Tech and I really want to go. I know I will get better if I do,” he says.

Kirkland doesn’t offer much insight into what his ace will do. He believes that’s better left up to his family. “He had some tough decisions to make when all the colleges started looking at him last year. And he’s going to have some tough decisions again later this summer. But I think you will see him in pro ball at some time in the future,” Kirkland says. •

I don't really like the Arkansas head coach's comments. Usually a coach will play it pretty neutral as opposed to sticking their noses into the middle of things. I would expect a coach to want what's in the best interest of the kid, and it sounds to me like he's more interested in his own team and winning.

entertheshoe wrote:I don't really like the Arkansas head coach's comments. Usually a coach will play it pretty neutral as opposed to sticking their noses into the middle of things. I would expect a coach to want what's in the best interest of the kid, and it sounds to me like he's more interested in his own team and winning.

Howard is such a big name instate if he loses him it will look bad, I expect him to do everything he can to keep him

I am most irrationally interested in Embree as a prospect and was glad to see signing is possible. We lack power and the fact he hits 400 plus feet home runs already, along with a cannon as an arm intrigue the heck out of me. I read one article that his throw from the OF to 3B was clocked at 94 when it got to the 3B, I have no reference for this but it sounds really good. He has some big time tools, and should be easier to sign away from a JUCO school then some of the other kids are. I don't run this team but I would be willing to give him 6 figures close to Aviles money to see if we can get him signed

I am most irrationally interested in Embree as a prospect and was glad to see signing is possible. We lack power and the fact he hits 400 plus feet home runs already, along with a cannon as an arm intrigue the heck out of me. I read one article that his throw from the OF to 3B was clocked at 94 when it got to the 3B, I have no reference for this but it sounds really good. He has some big time tools, and should be easier to sign away from a JUCO school then some of the other kids are. I don't run this team but I would be willing to give him 6 figures close to Aviles money to see if we can get him signed

Embree and Ruiz are 2 late round picks that I am intrigued with. Embree also hit a 330ish foot HR in a Wood bat showcase. I hope both sign quickly and see action in the AZL.

I'm assuming that this thread is for discussion also on who we'd like signed,etc. BTW, thanks Tony for the Draft Recap page with the links to the player bios. Saves a lot of time.

Looks like the team did their homework & took some upside guys that were also signable. Nice.

Beside the guys mentioned already I'm happy to see tha Jake Lowery is expected to sign. KLaw mentined the JMU ballpark, as have others but I noted in the draft thread tha 1/2 of Jake's HRs were hit on the road. Even if you took away all of the HRs he hit in his home park & turned them into doubles he'd have 12 HRs & 34 doubles in 251 ABs. Kid had 56 XBH's in 251 ABs. System needs power bats.

Matt Eureste is an interesting pick. Good size, good speed, polished defensively, really ahtletic. Maybe sticks at SS? I read that his older(and smaller) brother is a defensive specialist for Nichols State. Good D runs in the family. If he hits we might have another late round gem. Hope we sign him.

Lloyd Christmas wrote:Is MacPhee a non-prospect now? I remember around this time last year he was a 1st rd projection in all the early '11 mock drafts.

I think reality has come face-to-face with Mr. MacPhee. He may be a good ball player but 2B rarely get drafted high and players 5'7" players raise question marks. That being said, he is still a prospect with good bat speed and foot speed. Add to the fact that guys have made it to the show at similar specs, means that if he gets signed he can climb the ladder. I doubt that even if he had a good year, he would have been a 1st rounder - teams just are not gonna pay 1st round money to guys with his measurables.

That said, I hope he makes it to the show. Makes us vertically challenged folks happy.

Appel's a horse. Got that Masterson "perfect pitcher's build". Was hitting 97 when I saw him. FB mostly straight. Decent command. Nice Slider. Nice change. Not a really high effort guy for as hard as he throws. Nice controlled delivery. Looks athletic. Like to see him miss a few more bats.

I only saw 5 innings so take it with a couple grains of salt but if he could maintain the command i saw for 4 innings(rough patch in the 2nd) I'd say I liked him better than Gerrit Cole. He has a chance to be a really top end starter as a pro. This was the first I'd seen him but he projects better than any college pitcher I've seen this year. I read that he gave up a home run in the 7th but I din't see it, so I'm basing my opinion on what I saw.

SUMMARY: I like this class. Aside from Lindor and Howard at the top, Sisco, Lowery, Roberts, and Miles are all great values in their spots, while Haase and Tarpley provide high school upside. This will be an expensive class to sign but it should be worth it.

Appel's a horse. Got that Masterson "perfect pitcher's build". Was hitting 97 when I saw him. FB mostly straight. Decent command. Nice Slider. Nice change. Not a really high effort guy for as hard as he throws. Nice controlled delivery. Looks athletic. Like to see him miss a few more bats.

I only saw 5 innings so take it with a couple grains of salt but if he could maintain the command i saw for 4 innings(rough patch in the 2nd) I'd say I liked him better than Gerrit Cole. He has a chance to be a really top end starter as a pro. This was the first I'd seen him but he projects better than any college pitcher I've seen this year. I read that he gave up a home run in the 7th but I din't see it, so I'm basing my opinion on what I saw.

How'd you like Austin Wilson?

Wilson is BIG. I looked at the stats of these guys before I watched and saw Wilson's 7:56 BB/K ratio and expected him to look kind of overmatched at the plate by good pitchers, but I didn't see that yesterday. We'll see today. Didn't see too much action out of him except the throw from RF (which looked good). He's got to be one of the TOP guys in the 2013 college class.

I will echo your comments on Appel in the first four innings. He sat 94-96 and while he didn't get much tail on his fastball, he had a very good vertical plane. Delivery is very easy. His fastball and his breaking ball are plus pitches now. Poking some holes in him; (1) arm speed on change up was not always there, (2) only threw one (maybe two) breaking balls in the strike zone (was consistently low with the pitch, though -- seems to be his K pitch) and (3) he tired pretty significantly after 4-5 innings. Around 85 pitches, he was down to 89-92 mph and his command was off.

Compared to Cole, I still have a feeling Cole ends up a closer and I don't see that with Appel so that favors him, and I think Appel's breaking ball is a lot better than Cole's, but I think Appel has less polish at a similar age. It's a tough call on which is better. I don't know what others think of Appel, but he's clearly a top SP prospect. That being said, I tend to think both Cole and Appel are a tad overrated. Compared to Cole, Appel still has some projection to him, in my opinion, so that may favor him in my eyes but I would still prefer to see him improve his command b/c it looked spotty to me yesterday.

Baseball America has him at 5'11 and PG had him at 5'11 and 6'0 depending on the event. Indiana's prep baseball report has him at 5'11 as well. ESPN Rise did an article on him back in March as well and he was listed at 5'11.

Most places have him at 5'11 that's I've seen. Only seen two places list him at 5'9 (and one was your writeup). Did see one high school writeup list him at 5'10 though (at only 175 lbs).

Baseball America has him at 5'11 and PG had him at 5'11 and 6'0 depending on the event. Indiana's prep baseball report has him at 5'11 as well. ESPN Rise did an article on him back in March as well and he was listed at 5'11.

Most places have him at 5'11 that's I've seen. Only seen two places list him at 5'9 (and one was your writeup). Did see one high school writeup list him at 5'10 though (at only 175 lbs).

So where exactly is "everywhere" that he's listed at 5'9?

I got the height from the PGcrosschecker state by state in depth files, he is 5'9" and listed taller like every player is who is short

Guess we'll see what the Indians/official listing is. Agree that short guys tend to be listed taller than they are....but 3-4 inches shorter is pretty radical. And if he really is 5'9, I dont' off much as he's strictly a relief prospect.

Guess we'll see what the Indians/official listing is. Agree that short guys tend to be listed taller than they are....but 3-4 inches shorter is pretty radical. And if he really is 5'9, I dont' off much as he's strictly a relief prospect.

everywhere i've read has him 5'9, which is another reason besides signability, and college he fell to the 20th round

homerawayfromhome wrote:I've read 5'9 and 5'11. Rather see the taller of the two.

Dillon Peters is pretty short. If you reference the video of him on YouTube, toward the end of it he is talking with his catcher after the two got crossed up on their signals. The catcher, Austin Sparks, is also a prospect and is listed as 5'11" on his Perfect Game page I found through a Google search. Sparks appears to be a good 2 inches taller than Peters when the two are talking (at the 3:50 mark in the video), so backing into the number, it looks like he's 5'9". This video was when Peters was a junior, however, so he may have grown since but he looks 5'9".

The two inches isn't that big of a deal to me, though. I think he does a nice job throwing downward for someone his height and he gets surprisingly good depth on his breaking ball. The guy is a good pitcher and it's possible he develops into a Wandy Rodriguez type if all works out for him.

I doubt this guy signs, though. Although I said the same thing about Tony Wolters, Dillon Peters is *traditionally* not the kind of prospect you throw 1st round money at out of high school. Probably more importantly;

(1) Texas' weekend rotation of Taylor Jungmann, Cole Green and Sam Stafford will very likely all be in pro ball. Green is a senior, Jungmann was a 1st round pick and Stafford was a 2nd round pick. Texas undoubtedly has other guys that can get rotation spots, but Peters has a very good chance at earning a weekend rotation spot as a freshman.

(2) Baseball America lists him as 19 years old, so he may be eligible for the draft his sophomore season. That obviously has its advantages to the prospect. Now, MLB says his D.O.B. is 8/31/1992, so that'd make him 18 and not eligible for the 2013 draft by about a month. Maybe, maybe not.

I think Peters is going to be an expensive sign and probably significantly more expensive than he should be (if indeed he's eligible in 2013). He's a nice fallback to have if Lindor and/or Howard negotiations go bad, but while he's a good pitcher he's really not all that projectable (to go w/ being short, he's got a below avg body build when compared to other early round prospects).

Maybe Peters is college starter for a cpl yrs and eventually pro reliever???

One kid that sparked my interest was Taylor Sparks (no pun intended) kids got good size coupled with power RH bat at 3rd. He's committed to UCIrvine, I'd def. Try to sign him, Kevin Kramer and Austin Deimer who were all picked back to back to back from Cali. Kramer could be the hardest of those 3 IMO to get signed.

It's tough to say how many of these kids the Tribe wants to sign really several would likely be fall backs in case Howard and or Lindor don't. I'd love to know what the budget is... Bet Brad Grant already wants more If it's the same as last years they would still have potential to bring in 15-20 guys with at least 5-6 well over slot. Thought we'd only get about 20 last yr but ended with about 25 (?).

homerawayfromhome wrote:I've read 5'9 and 5'11. Rather see the taller of the two.

Dillon Peters is pretty short. If you reference the video of him on YouTube, toward the end of it he is talking with his catcher after the two got crossed up on their signals. The catcher, Austin Sparks, is also a prospect and is listed as 5'11" on his Perfect Game page I found through a Google search. Sparks appears to be a good 2 inches taller than Peters when the two are talking (at the 3:50 mark in the video), so backing into the number, it looks like he's 5'9". This video was when Peters was a junior, however, so he may have grown since but he looks 5'9".

I've said it before in another thread but do not believe all of the measurements on PG. At no time does PG measure anyone, they take a questionnaire. In my step-son's case, his coach gave PG his height and weight. Many coaches know that colleges are more likely to look into players with certain measurables and the exagerate a little.

Interesting comment from a scout I spoke to today on Myles: "I only saw Myles once. He looked to have plus-plus raw power in BP, but he was out front of off speed stuff all night in the game. He rolled over GBs every AB, but then ran plus-plus times home/1b! This kid is built like Kevin Mitchell, but he ran like Deon Sanders or something."

TonyIPI wrote:Interesting comment from a scout I spoke to today on Myles: "I only saw Myles once. He looked to have plus-plus raw power in BP, but he was out front of off speed stuff all night in the game. He rolled over GBs every AB, but then ran plus-plus times home/1b! This kid is built like Kevin Mitchell, but he ran like Deon Sanders or something."